


the in-between

by museaway



Series: VLD Exchange [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Birthday, Drunk Shiro (Voltron), Established Relationship, Living Together, M/M, Slice of Life, flirting with your husband, season 8 what season 8
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-05
Updated: 2019-03-05
Packaged: 2019-11-12 04:12:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18003605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/museaway/pseuds/museaway
Summary: Coming home drunk from his own birthday party, Shiro’s goal is to get his husband naked, but Keith has other ideas about how to celebrate.





	the in-between

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Fic_me_senseless](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fic_me_senseless/gifts).



> This technically takes place in the same universe as [(un)masked](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16455584). That's the story of how they got engaged. If you haven’t read it, you don’t need to. Just know that S8 never happened, the paladins live on Earth which is being rebuilt, and everyone is fine. 
> 
> Written for the 2019 Shiro Birthday Exchange and beta read by Cold_Flame96.. My first recipient had to drop and I was sad to have a story and no one to give it to. But I was lucky enough to be reassigned to undeadandinbed and wrote this instead! ♥

By the time they reach their apartment, Shiro is only pleasantly tipsy.

He's never particularly liked wine, but the varietals Hunk recommended were excellent. Even Keith had complimented the single glass he’d downed three hours ago before switching to soda. Shiro had never been to a soft opening before so he has no idea if the one they attended was a success or not, but he does have almost three decades of experience with birthday parties — even if most, like this one, didn’t fall on his actual birthday. And as far as parties go, this one ranked at the top. 

Vrepit Sal’s newest Earth location was packed to capacity with colleagues and friends wishing Hunk congratulations on his newest venture. To Shiro, they gave their best wishes for his next year of life and belated congratulations for the nuptials.

Hunk had reserved the corner booth for the paladins, and when he wasn't at the stove, came out to sit with them. (It might be more accurate to say Sal chased him out of the kitchen. Shiro had seen a spatula waving furiously between the flapping kitchen doors.) The new menu fused Earth favorites with traditional cuisine from across the Galra empire and was surprisingly good, although it was wise not to ask about the ingredients.

The best part of the night, besides the company and the good food, was seeing his husband relaxed. Happy. When Lance fished a green tentacle out of a tortilla and started to shriek, accidentally flinging it into Allura’s hair, Keith laughed until he cried into Shiro's shoulder. He shook hands with a smile and held up his matching ring on command. And when the cake came out and everyone’s eyes were fixed on the twenty-eight candles flickering atop white buttercream, Keith squeezed Shiro's knee under the table and leaned up to kiss the corner of his lips.

“Watch your step,” Keith is saying. He's got a hand on Shiro's lower back, the other clamped on his wrist. They're standing outside the door to their apartment, and the fact that Shiro is drunk in the hallway on his own doormat seems indescribably funny.

It's possible he is slightly more than tipsy.

He gazes at Keith, who is looking for his keys. He pulled his hair back when they left the restaurant. It’s almost all the same length now and reaches his shoulder blades. Most days he ties it back. But when they were getting dressed for the party, Shiro asked him to leave it down and Keith had, putting on a suit and burgundy tie without fuss. Shiro spent half the night flustered by him.

“You look sexy tonight,” he says to Keith, who has never been gracious about receiving compliments and is not gracious about it now. He simultaneously frowns and averts his eyes, but the corners of his mouth lift in pleasure despite his embarrassment, and Shiro tries to catch them.

“Save it ‘till we're inside,” Keith says, ducking out of the way.

“There’s nobody here.”

“I don't want you throwing up on me.”

“Just one,” Shiro says. “You won't kiss your husband on his birthday?”

He's being manipulative. He knows he's being manipulative, invoking the birthday guilt card, but Keith is unbelievably good looking in a suit and tie. He almost never dresses up. It would be a shame to let him escape. Shiro wants to take the suit off of him slowly. Or maybe he would rather that Keith be the one to take it off while he watches. Now _that_ would be a birthday present.

Keith sighs. He opens the door to the apartment and all but pushes Shiro through it.

With the door closed behind them, he helps Shiro out of his suit jacket and lets Shiro kiss him up against the wall for a few minutes, going a little soft and doll-like, submissive in a way he usually isn't. He's placating him. Keith's arms are loose around his neck, his kisses tender.

“How ‘bout we get you out of this suit?” he whispers, only he doesn't _mean_ it the way Shiro wishes he meant it and that makes him pout. He boxes Keith in against the wall. Keith shrinks down another inch, his cheeks coloring pink.

Three months have passed since they became Mr. and Mr. Shirogane and not a day goes by when Shiro takes for granted how lucky he is to be with Keith. Flying has been the only thing on his mind since he was seventeen — flying, and living the last few healthy years of his life to their fullest. Ending his last relationship had been sad but liberating. He didn’t realize how much it had dragged him down until it was over. He never feels like that with Keith. When he looks at him, he sees a future bigger than a cockpit. It's like he can do anything.

He says as much.

Keith flushes harder.

“You're gonna be embarrassed tomorrow when you remember the shit you're saying.”

Shiro grins. “How come didn't give me my present yet?”

“I was saving it.” Keith glances at his watch. “There are twenty-one minutes left in the day. Would you please get in the shower?”

“Are you coming with me?”

Keith takes a breath and regains some of his height. He wraps his fingers around Shiro's tie.

“Shiro,” he says through kiss-reddened lips. He pulls the tie and brings Shiro’s ear to his mouth. “Do you want your present or not?”

Message received. Shiro salutes and sashays through their apartment even though Keith is probably shaking his head behind him at the display.

In the bathroom, he plays a wobbly game of “what do I take off first?” and decides on his pants, which feels strange once he's naked from the waist down and still wearing a deep blue tie. He laughs at his reflection in the mirror. It's taken some getting used to, but he’s accepted his white hair. And Keith loves him just the same, which is really all that matters.

Shiro carefully hangs his shirt and tie on a hook, and drapes the pants over the towel rod. They immediately slither to the floor. “Oops,” he says, but they’re too far away to pick up — he’d have to bend over, and that’s impossible right now. He leaves them behind as a casualty of the evening.

He starts the water and steps into the shower. The water is cold and he yelps when it strikes his stomach, huddling against the shower wall until steam curls up and he can melt into it. He sings in the shower and gets shampoo in his eyes, whining for Keith to help, which he does with a glower and gentle hands.

“You saved me,” Shiro says in a voice he intends to be seductive but comes out slurred. “Sure you don’t want to get in?”

“You’ve been in here long enough,” Keith says. His sleeves are wet, pink where they cling to his skin. “I’ll be in the bedroom.” He shuts off the water and hands Shiro a towel before vanishing again. He's picked up the pants, and laid a pair of boxers and an old Garrison t-shirt on the bathroom counter. Shiro dresses and brushes his teeth three times.

Keith is waiting for him on the other side of the door. Maybe he's lying on the bed in his suit — although, it got wet, so probably not. Or maybe he's taken off his suit and put on something exciting, like those sheer black briefs from the back of his drawer he pretends not to own. He hasn’t worn them since the wedding night. Shiro throws open the bathroom door in anticipation.

Keith is sitting up in bed, in a red t-shirt and glasses, reading. His hair is down. A gift bag and two smaller wrapped presents huddle on his nightstand. It’s not the seduction scene Shiro fantasized about, but he isn’t disappointed. He feels a thrill knowing he's the only person who ever sees Keith like this. When Shiro comes into the room, Keith smiles and casts the book aside. He takes off his glasses and holds out his arms.

“C’mere.”

Shiro falls into them, laughing when Keith makes a little _oof_ sound and catches him.

“I didn't think you were coming out of there in time,” Keith says.

“In time for what?”

“Just a few more seconds.” Keith lets out a breath. He maneuvers his arms behind Shiro's back. There's a beep, and then Keith extends his right arm, showing his watch display to Shiro.

The clock is stopped between midnight and one second into March.

“I feel bad you almost never get to celebrate on the actual day,” Keith says. “I figured there's gotta be a little of the twenty-ninth in there.”

Rationally, Shiro knows that time is still moving, but he is so touched by the gesture that he's speechless. Growing up, he was jealous of other kids who celebrated on their real birthdays. Shiro had to settle for the twenty-eighth or the first, and sometimes his birthday was moved several days before or after so his party would fall on a weekend. When leap year came around, he tolerated the jokes about only being a couple of years old with a smile. People meant well.

It’s ridiculous to be upset about something as trivial as a date when there are so many real problems in the universe, but borrowing a day still feels strange, even as an adult.

He's never said a word of this to Keith, but still Keith understands.

“I love you,” Shiro says.

Keith smiles and strokes his face. “I know you do.”

“I don't say it enough.”

“You don't have to. Do you want your presents?”

Now that he's lying down, Shiro isn't certain he can get up again. He doesn’t want to. His eyes are heavy and the room is spinning. Keith is very warm. Shiro puts his face against Keith’s chest and shakes his head. “In the morning. I don’t think I can move.”

Laughing, Keith kisses the crown of his head and shuts off the light. Shiro shuts his eyes. The wine is working its way out of his system along with the heat from the shower. The giddiness from a few minutes ago has slid away and in its place, he feels uncertain. A little desperate. Drinking always has this effect on him. That’s why he doesn't do it that often.

“Keith?”

“Hm?”

“Do I make you happy?” he says. It seems terribly important to ask.

“Why are you worrying about that?” There’s amusement in Keith’s voice. He kisses Shiro’s head again.

“Answer the question.”

“The only way you're gonna make me unhappy is if you puke in the bed.”

“I'm serious. Would you tell me if you weren't?”

Keith sighs. “That's not…that's not a possibility. Are we gonna piss each other off sometimes? Yeah. I'm sure we’ll fight like everyone else. But there’s no way being with you is ever gonna make me unhappy.”

“Keith…”

“Let me finish. You have no idea how alone I was before I met you. You were the only person who thought I was worth anything. I never thought we could be like this. I didn't think you'd ever see me as anything but a kid. First time you kissed me, I thought I was going to _die_.” Keith takes a breath and holds him tighter. “Shiro, I've lost you so many times. I know how it feels to live without you. But you keep coming back to me. So there's never gonna be a day I'm not happy to be with you. Okay?”

There's a wobble in Keith’s voice that makes Shiro think he might be crying, but Keith is proud and Shiro doesn't mention it. He pushes up on his arms enough to kiss Keith on the mouth. He links their hands together, squeezing to feel the ring on Keith's left hand. Except for the wedding, he hasn't taken it off since the day Shiro proposed.

His own says _I love you_ on the inside, a secret between the two of them and the jeweler who engraved it. Shiro keeps it in his heart, like he will this moment outside of time.

Keith’s t-shirt has ridden up and exposed his stomach. Shiro slips his hands underneath. Keith smells faintly of the cologne he dabbed on earlier. He responds when Shiro kisses him, moaning softly in the back of his throat.

“Thought you were tired,” he whispers as Shiro's fingertips reach his chest.

“But you smell good.”

“Thank you. Let’s go to sleep, okay? We can do this in the morning.”

Yawning in resignation, Shiro kisses the side of Keith's neck. Beneath the shirt, his hands go still. He doesn’t have the energy to move them. There's a smile in Keith's sigh when he rests their heads together.

“Your watch,” Shiro says, remembering. “You should restart it.”

“We don't have to be anywhere tomorrow,” Keith murmurs. “I want to tell you happy birthday when we wake up.”

Shiro smiles with his eyes closed. “Can we have birthday sex?”

“Birthday sex, birthday pancakes. Whatever you want.”

He wants forever. He wants Keith to wake him up in nothing but a smile and piece of transparent black fabric. He wants to hear Keith’s laughter every day for the rest of his life.

They’ll start with tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Help, I love them so much. Please check out the rest of the Birthday Exchange pieces on AO3 and at @vldexchange on twitter and tumblr.
> 
> Thank you to Cold Flame for beta reading at the last minute and to Jess for moderating this event with me and giving me pep talks! 
> 
> If you're on Twitter, please [come say hello](https://www.twitter.com/museawayfic)! I also started [using tumblr](https://museaway.tumblr.com) a little more recently if you hang out there.


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